Chapter 44
I love hearing about my little brother’s sex life from my dad’s friends. Seriously, thanks!
Message from Henry to Ethan
Ethan
After that nerve-racking conversation with my mum, I felt like hitting the treadmill.
I would have preferred to go jogging in the park, but it was Sunday, and spring was in full swing, which meant the park would be packed.
I probably wouldn’t be able to run even ten steps without a tourist getting in my way, and I wasn’t in the mood.
I pulled on my workout clothes and started running.
In the past, I’d often used exercise as a way to forget the past, but today, I was driven by thoughts of Grace.
My fingers had been itching to message her about how the talk with her parents had gone, but I didn’t want to appear impatient or push her, so I’d held back.
I made a deal with myself: Once I’d finished my run, I could text her.
By then, she would have had plenty of time to talk to her parents.
After almost an hour, I stepped off the treadmill, my T-shirt completely soaked with sweat. I pulled the heart-rate monitor off my arm and headed to the kitchen to refill my water bottle. As I walked, I wrote a message to Grace.
Me:
Hey, how did it go with your parents?
I downed half a litre of water and waited for her reply, but none came.
They were probably still talking. I took my phone into the bathroom and let the warm water cascade over my muscles, but still no answer.
Worry began to creep in. Had the talk gone badly?
Or were they in the middle of a heated argument?
I checked to see if yesterday’s blowjob lie had somehow been leaked to the press, but there was nothing.
In fact, there was no mention of Grace or me whatsoever.
The news of Henry’s drug problem, the new allegations against my dad, and the ongoing trial were apparently far more exciting than my love life.
I sent Grace another message.
Me:
Text me as soon as you can.
To distract myself while I waited, I started watching London Has Fallen.
Henry hated the film. He’d gone to see it in the cinema with Logan when it came out, but had walked out before it was even over.
Ever since, Logan had been giving him a DVD of the film at every possible occasion.
I wanted to finally understand the joke so I could be in on it too. But I couldn’t really concentrate.
Ten minutes passed.
Twenty.
Still nothing from Grace.
After half an hour, I paused the film and called her.
It rang, but she didn’t pick up. My hand tightened around the phone.
The faint worry I’d felt earlier had snowballed into serious concern.
This wasn’t like Grace. She usually answered quickly, especially since she knew I was waiting to hear from her.
Five minutes later, I tried again. This time, it went straight to voicemail.
Had she declined my call? The thought that she might be ignoring me hadn’t occurred to me, but now it hit me hard.
Had the talk with her parents gone that badly?
Had she changed her mind and decided she didn’t want to be with me after all?
No, I couldn’t imagine that. Firstly, I’d seen in her eyes what she felt for me.
Secondly, Grace was many things, but she wasn’t a coward.
If she didn’t want to be with me anymore, she would tell me to my face. Something was wrong.
Before I knew what I was doing, I strode out of my flat barefoot and made my way to Henry’s. I pressed the doorbell several times, urging him to hurry. A few seconds later, the door swung open, and I was looking straight into my brother’s puzzled, slightly flustered face.
“Is Kate still here?” I demanded before he could say a word.
“Yes, I’m here!” She waved at me from the sofa.
I pushed past Henry into his flat. “Could you try calling Grace?”
“Why? What happened?” She reached for her phone.
“No idea. Maybe I’m overreacting, but she’s not answering my messages, and she’s not picking up either. I keep getting her voicemail, which has never happened with her before.”
Kate frowned. “Did you two have a fight?”
“No. Everything was fine when she left earlier. She wanted to tell her parents about us today and said she’d talk to me after, but that was hours ago.”
“Let me try,” Kate said.
With my stomach in knots, I watched Kate call Grace, putting the phone on speaker so I could hear. But it also went straight to voicemail. “The number you have dialled—” Kate cut off the automated voice and tried again, with the same result.
The knot in my stomach tightened. I turned to Henry, who had been watching in silence. “Can I borrow your Bentley?” I didn’t own my own car; I’d never needed one, since I could always call Wallace, but he had the day off after working late yesterday.
“Sure.” Henry fetched the keys and tossed them to me.
I caught them. “Thanks.”
“Text us when you’ve spoken to Grace.” Kate sounded worried.
I nodded and hurried off, not wanting to waste any time. The drive from the hotel to Grace’s place usually took about half an hour, but I made it in under twenty minutes. On the way, I tried calling her twice more.
I parked outside the house where Grace lived with her parents.
It wasn’t how I’d pictured our first meeting, but at this point, I didn’t care any more than I cared about the traffic laws I’d broken on my way here.
I rang the doorbell and was immediately buzzed into the house.
I took the stairs two at a time. A woman in her fifties stood in front of one of the doors.
Her blond hair was darker than Grace’s, but she was unmistakably her mother.
A puzzled look crossed her face when she saw me.
“Good evening, Mrs. Claymore,” I said, trying to sound composed.
She inclined her head. “Good evening. You’re Ethan Darlington.”
“Yes, that’s me. Is Grace home?”
“No, she’s with her friend Kate.”
“Did she tell you that?”
Grace’s mother looked even more perplexed. “Of course. She messaged us earlier to say she was spending the evening with Kate and staying over at hers.”
“What’s going on?” a deep voice asked. Mr. Claymore appeared behind his wife. He had light-brown hair, and even at rest, deep furrows lined his brow, as if he frowned often. He looked surprised when he saw me.
“Mr. Darlington is looking for Grace. I told him she’s with Kate.”
“Yes, but Kate’s at the hotel and Grace isn’t with her.
” My words came out harsh and cutting. Perhaps they even sounded rude, but in that moment, I couldn’t care less.
If Grace wasn’t here or at the hotel—or with Kate, like her parents believed—where was she?
“Could I see the message your daughter sent you?”
I waited while Grace’s mum fetched her phone. Mr. Claymore stayed by the door. While his wife seemed mostly baffled by my sudden appearance and my questions, I saw in his eyes the same worries that plagued me. We didn’t fill the silence of Mrs. Claymore’s absence with meaningless small talk.
Grace’s mother returned and handed me her phone. A cold shiver ran down my spine as I read Grace’s message, words I knew couldn’t be true.
Grace:
Hey! I’m at Kate’s and I’ll spend the night here.
So don’t worry about me. See you tomorrow!
My heart stopped as my thoughts raced to find an explanation. There had to be a logical reason for all this, but I couldn’t think of one.
Grace’s dad eyed me, tense, and even her mum was slowly beginning to realise something was wrong. I tried to calm myself. I was probably totally overreacting, still wound up from the emotions of last night, but I couldn’t ignore the loud warning bell going off in my head. Something wasn’t right.
I explained to Mr. and Mrs. Claymore that their daughter wasn’t with Kate and that no one seemed to know where she was.
Their concern grew with my fear. We exchanged numbers and promised to let each other know as soon as we heard from Grace.
Her parents would start telephoning around, and I would go and look for her.
On my way back to the Bentley, I dialled Rose’s number. I half expected her not to answer, but to my surprise, she did.
“Hello?” She sounded annoyed.
“Hey, Rose. It’s me, Ethan.”
“I know. Is this about your message?”
“No, forget the message.” I unlocked the car and slid into the driver’s seat.
It had grown dark, which made me feel even more uneasy.
By daylight, I’d been able to convince myself that Grace simply needed a little time to herself.
Maybe she was at the Molly Rose alone, or out for a walk.
But that faint hope vanished with the sun. “Do you know where Grace is?”
Rose was audibly taken aback. “Isn’t she with you?”
“No. We were together this morning. She left to go home around midday, but she’s not there.
I’ve just been over to check,” I explained, pairing the phone with the hands-free system before starting the engine.
I didn’t want to waste a second. “She messaged her parents hours ago saying she’s staying over at Kate’s, but Kate is at the hotel with Henry and has no idea where Grace is. I thought you might know something.”
“Shit,” Rose murmured. “I haven’t heard from her since Friday.”
“Could you try calling her?”
“Sure. I’ll call you right back.”
She hung up, and a deafening silence filled the car. My hands gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.
Where are you, Dreamgirl?
I was making a mental list of all the places I could search for her when my phone rang.
It was only Rose.
I answered, hopeful but bracing myself.
“I can’t get hold of her,” she said without a greeting.
My fingers clenched even tighter. “Fuck!”
Rose was quiet for a moment, then said, “Do you think something’s happened to her?”
She voiced the thought I’d been trying to keep at bay this whole time. The idea that Grace might be in danger tore me apart. She had to be all right; I couldn’t bear it if she weren’t. And yet all signs pointed to something terrible having happened.